Bow making apparatus



Dec. 1966 M. w. MASHBURN, JR., ETAL 3,

BOW MAKING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 21, 1965 INVENTORS MORRIS W. MASHBUQN,|JR. W- ALLJ$QN BUNTI N ATTORNEYS United States Patent C) 3,289,900 BOW MAKING APPARATUS Morris W. Mashhurn, Jr., 5124 Overton Road, and William Allison Buntin, 3500 Franklin Road, both of Nashville, Tenn.

Filed Jan. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 426,945 3 Claims. (Cl. 223-46) The present invention relates in general to apparatus for use in making decorative ribbon bows of the rosette or pompon type, and more particularly to apparatus for aiding the manual forming of such decorative ribbon bows by the general purchasing public.

Heretofore, a number of different machines have been devised for automatically and mechanically forming decorative bows from ribbons for use by commercial establishments such as retail stores and sellers of preformed decorative bows, in connection with fancy packaging of gifts and wrapping of commercial products during holiday seasons. These machines are complex and expensive, so that it has been impractical for individuals to purchase such devices for home use. Further, such devices are limited by their construction to production of ornamental ribbon bows from a single stock roll of ribbon and, accordingly are not readily adaptable to production of multi-colored decorative bows. Recognizing that there is a far greater demand for home production of highly ornamental decorative bows for use in gift wrapping and the like, others have devised ribbons of special construction to facilitate production of decorative bows by the general consumer public, but such ribbons are especially shaped or perforated for the production of such decorative bows and are not suitable for other use to which conventional ribbon is applicable.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an extremely simple, inexpensive apparatus which will facilitate the production of decorative ribbon bows from conventional ribbon by persons of average skill.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of apparatus of the type described in the preceding paragraph wherein a bow-retaining pin may be removably supported in a selected position relative to a conventional ribbon roll or similar supporting base in a manner facilitating formation of decorative bows of the pompon or rosette type and retaining of the formed bow in impaled relation on the pin.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of novel apparatus of simple and inexpensive construction for facilitating manual formation of rosette type ribbon bows on a bow retaining pin supported in axial alignment with the center axis of a stock ribbon roll, wherein the bow retaining pin and ribbon loops impaled thereon may be conveniently rotated about said axis during formation of the bow.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of novel apparatus of simple and inexpensive construction for facilitating manual formation of rosette type ribbon bows on a bow retaining pin supported in axial alignment with the center axis of a stock ribbon roll, which facilitates ejection of the bow retaining pin upon composition of the bow.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following detail description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, illustrating a preferred form of the inven' tion.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the bow pin holder fixture of the present invention assembled on a stock ribbon roll shown in process of formation of a bow;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the bow pin holder fixture and a bow retaining pin assembledthereon;

FIGURE 3 is a top plane view of the bow pin holder fixture and bow retaining pin assembled therewith;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom view of the bow pin holder;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of an assembled bow pin holder and bow retaining pin illustrating the rotatable sleeve component of the bow pin holder in section taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary section view taken along the line 66 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a horizontal section view taken along the line 7-7 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is an exploded view of the bow pin holder and a bow retaining pin of the type to be removably as sembled therewith.

Referring to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures, the present invention comprises a bow pin holder fixture, generally indicated by the reference character 10, adapted to be removably mounted in the usual central opening, indicated at 11 in FIGURE 5, of-one of the annular end plates 12 of a standard consumer ribbon roll 13 to be supported by the roll 13 in upwardly projecting relation from the uppermost annular end plate of the ribbon roll when the latter is disposed flat on a supporting surface and support a bow retaining pin 14 at the upper end of the bow pin holder fixture.

The bow retaining pin 14, which is best illustrated in FIGURE 8, has an integral unitary plastic base 15 which is substantially square in configuration from which an upright shaft 16 projects, terminating in a conical pointed head 17 having a base which is of greater transverse diameter than the maximum transverse dimensions of the shaft 16 to provide a downwardly facing annular shoulder for retaining ribbon loops impaled on the pin 14 below the head 17.

The bow pin holder fixture 10 for supporting the pin 14 in the position illustrated in the drawing consists of a spindle member 18 and a pin supporting sleeve member 19, each of which are preferably of an integral unitary plastic molded construction, the sleeve member 19 being supported for rotation and axial downward displacement relative to the spindle member 18 designed to be removably coupled with the hole 11 in the uppermost ribbon annular end plate 12. The spindle member 18 comprises a post or portion 20- having a cross-shaped transverse sectional configuration over the major portion of the axial length thereof providing radial ribs 21 located in quadrature relation to each other. The cross-shaped post portion 20 defined by the ribs 21 include a radially enlarged section 22 along the major portion of the height of the post and a constricted section 23 at the lowermost portion thereof, while the upper end of the post portion 20 terminates in an upwardly projecting pin formation or plunger member 24 of cylindrical cross section having a diameter approximating the transverse thickness of one of the ribs 21. At the lower end of the post portion 20 immediately adjacent the constricted section 23 of the ribs is a mounting base portion 25 formed of an enlarged annular mounting flange or shoulder 26 below which is provided a frictional coupling extension in the form of four radially projecting, quadrature related wedge formations 27 aligned generally with the planes of the ribs 21 and having downwardly and inwardly inclined sharpened edges 28. As will be observed from FIGURE 5, each aligned and opposingly extending pair of wedge formations 27 produces a composite profile of isosceles trapezoidal configuration. At the upper or radially outermost ends of the sharpened edges 28 of the wedge formations 27 where these formations join the annular flange 26, notches 29 are provided. The spacing and inclination of the sharpened edges 28 are selected relative to the diam- "notches 29.

roll 13 in this manner and the ribbon roll 13 is supported eter of the central opening 11 of the end plates of the ribbon roll 13 so that opposite sets of sharpened edges 28 progress from a spacing smaller than the normal diameter of the central opening 11 to a spacing slightly larger than this diameter.

The spindle member 18 comprises an axially elongated tubular cylindrical wall 30 terminating in a transverse, centrally apertu-red end wall 31 at the upper end thereof providing aperture 32 for slidably accommodating the plunger 24 therein, and terminating at the lower end of the cylindrical wall 30 in an annular flange 33 projecting radially outwardly from the cylindrical wall 30 to a maximum diameter corresponding approximately to the diameter of the mounting flange 26. The cylindrical wall 30 and end wall 31 define a downwardly opening cylindrical bore 34 of a diameter corresponding substantially to the transverse spacing between the outermost edges of each pair of opposingly projecting aligned ribs 21 in the enlarged sections 22 of said ribs. The lower end of the bore 34 is circumscribed by an inwardly projecting head 35 projecting to a diameter corresponding to the transverse spacing between the edges of the constricted sections 23 of a pair of such opposingly projecting ribs 21.

The upper end portion of the sleeve member 19 is provided with releasable seating and holding means for the base 15 of the bow retaining pin 14, formed by a pair of upwardly and inwardly inclined retaining jaws 36 formed integrally with the plastic sleeve member 19 with the proximate end of the retaining jaws 36 spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the transverse width of the pin shaft 16 but less than the transverse width of the pin base 15, while the downwardly facing fiat surfaces of the jaws 36 near the proximate ends thereof are spaced above the uppermost surface of the end wall 31 a distance corresponding to the thickness of the pin base 15. A pair of ramp and stop shoulder formations 37 of right triangular vertical cross-section are formed integrally with the end wall 31 at the top thereof along a diameter of the sleeve member 19 located at right angles to the diameter along which the jaws 36 are aligned to define upwardly and inwardly inclined shallow ramp surfaces 38 and flat vertical shoulder surfaces 39, the latter being in parallelism with each other and spaced apart transversely a distance equal to the spacing between opposite sides of the pin base 15. The plastic material from which the sleeve member 19 is molded is a composition which provides for sufficient flexible deformation of the jaws 36 and bead 35 to permit the base 15 of the pin 14 to be forced into the centered position illustrated in FIGURES 2, 3, and 6 and to permit suificient upward and outward movement of the jaws 36 relative to each other to allowthe pin to be forced axially upwardly between proximate ends of the jaws for ejection of the pin from the holder fixture. This property of the plastic material also allows the bead 36 to be deformed outwardly by contact with the outer edges of the ribs 21 upon forcing of the sleeve member 19 axially downwardly on the spindle member 18 to eflect initial assembly of the sleeve member with the spindle member to assume the relative positions illustrated in FIGURE 5.

In the use of the bow pin holder fixture, assuming the sleeve member 19 and spindle member 18 have been assembled to enclose the enlarged section 22 of the ribs 21 within the bore 34 of the sleeve member above the head 35 thereof, the fixture is first assembled to the ribbon roll 13 by forcing the mounting base portion 25 into the central opening 11 of the upper, usually cardboard end vplate 12 of the ribbon roll until the bounding edges of the end plate 12- surrounding the opening 11 snap into the When the fixture is assembled on the ribbon on a flat horizontal surface such as a table or the like,

the sleeve, member 19 is gravitationally urged to the broken line position illustrated in FIGURE 5 wherein the apertured end wall 31 abuts against the upper edges of the ribs 21. To assemble a bow retaining pin 14 in the pin holder fixture, sleeve member 19 is manually lifted until the upper surface of the apertured end wall 31 is flush with or slightly above the upper end of the plunger 24,

and the base 15 of a bow retaining pin 14 is disposed against one of the ramp surfaces 38 and oriented to align two of the opposite parallel sides of the base 15 with the flat lower surfaces of the jaws 36. The pin is then forced laterally between the jaws until it becomes seated in centered relation between the shoulder surfaces 39, which correspond to the positions illustrated in FIGURES 2, 3, 5 and 6. Ribbons bows are then formed on the bow pin 14 in any desired manner by impaling successive loops onto the bow pin, The procedure followed in forming the bow may be in accordance with those described in prior US. Patent 3,136,459 granted to Morris W. Mashburn, Jr., one of the joint'inventors of the subject invention. Briefly stated, a piece of ribbon may be crossed to form a loop having a length about /2 the length of the desired size of the bow which may frequently be found to correspond approximately to the radius of the ribbon roll 13. The ribbon forming this first loop is impaled on the bow pin 14 in the zone of intersection or crossing so that the conical head 17 passes entirely through the two layers of ribbon to retain the loop on the shank 16 thereof. The ribbon is successively manipulated in a similar manner to form additional loops, each of which are impaled onto the bow retaining pin 14 until the complete rosette bow is formed. The ribbon in then cut adjacent the periphery of the stock roll, or may have been previously cut from the stock roll by approximation of the total length of ribbon required, after which manual downward pressure is exerted on the flange 33 to force the sleeve member 19 axially toward the mounting flange 26 of the spindle member 18, effecting relative upward movement of the plunger 24 through the opening 32 of the end wall 31 and against the base of the pin 16, whereupon the jaws 36 flex outwardly a sufficient distance to permit passage of the pin base 15 therebetween. This action is quite rapid and results in quick positive ejection of the bow retaining pin 14 and the rosette impaled thereon from the pin holder fixture 10. Since the sleeve member 19 is readily rotatable on the spindle member 18, this permits convenient rotation of the sleeve member 19 and bow pin 14 retained thereby during formation of the rosette or other decorative bow to facilitate manipulation of the ribbon in forming the decorative bow.

While one preferred example of the present invention has been described, it is apparent that various modifications may be made therein within the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations be placed on the invention as are imposed by the prior art and set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

-1. Apparatus for use with a standard consumer ribbon roll of the type having ribbon wound on a cylindrical core supported between a pair of axially spaced annular end plates of relatively deformable carboard or the like which have aligned center spindle openings to make bows of the rosette type from a strip of the ribbon, comprising a rigid integral bow retaining pin onto which successive loops of the ribbon are to be impaled and held at the center of the bow having an elongated shank terminating at one end in an enlarged sharpened head and at the other end in an enlarged rectangular base flange having a bottomsu'rface and two pairs of parallel side edges, a holder fixture for releasably holding said pin in upwardly pointing relation in alignment with the center axis of said ribbon roll when the ribbon roll is positioned with its end plates in horizontal planes including an integral one piece 'rnolded spindle member and an elongated integral one piece molded pin-supporting sleeve member, said spindle mernber including an elongated post portion and r a lower mounting base portion at one end thereof having frictional coupling formations to be inserted into the spindle opening of the uppermost end plate, for releasably supporting said post portion in upwardly projecting relation on said rib'bon roll with its longitudinal axis aligned with said center axis, said sleeve member being formed of deformable plastic and including a hollow cylindrical body portion having a downwardly opening bore sized to slidably and rotata-bly nest over said post portion with confronting surfaces of said post portion and bore in rotative and sliding engagement with each other over the major portion of the axial length of the bore to support said sleeve member for rotation and axial movement relative to said post portion and stabilize said sleeve member in concentric relation to said center axis, said sleeve member including an upper end wall having a central aperture therethrough and a pair of diametrically oppositely spaced jaw members projecting in upwardly inclined, converging relation therefrom flanking said aperture defining flat inwardly facing surfaces for receiving edge portions of said pin base flange between said inwardly facing surfaces and said upper end wall upon sliding of said base flange along said upper end wall and radially of said center axis to releasably clamp the same against said upper end wall, said spindle member having a plunger of slightly greater axial length than the thickness of said end wall projectable through said end wall aperture into abutment with said base flange to force said bow pin axially of said center axis to spread said jaw members and release said base flange from clamped relation by said jaw members upon axial movement of said sleeve member toward the ribbon roll, said upper end wall of said sleeve member including diametrically opposite ramp formations in quadrature relation to said jaw members having vertical shoulders spaced radially of the center axis a distance corresponding to the distance between a pair of said parallel side edges of said base flange to engage said edges and position the bow pin with its shank aligned with said center axis.

2. Apparatus for making ribbon bows as defined in claim 1, wherein said post portion of said spindle member is of cross-shaped configuration defining radially projecting planiform ribs having rounded outer edges to engage Wall portions of said sleeve member bounding said bore and support said sleeve member in concentric relation with said post portion for rotation about the latter and axial movement from a raised to a lowered position relative to the spindle member, said edges of said ribs having radially constricted portions over a longitudinal zone thereof, and said sleeve member having a bead formation projecting into said bore to track in said constricted portions and normally limit axial movement of said sleeve member relative to said spindle member to the axial distance spanned by said constricted portions.

3. Apparatus for making ribbon bows as defined in claim 1 wherein said post portion includes means integral therewith defining a plurality of axially elongated, circumferentially spaced guide surfaces paralleling said center axis in relatively rotative and sliding engagement with bounding surfaces of said bore substantially throughout the axial length of said bore when the sleeve member is in a lower limit position relative to said post portion forming said confronting surfaces to stabilize said sleeve member in concentric relation to said center axis.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,982,452 5/1961 Anderson 22346 3,061,153 10/1962 Rector 223-46 3,136,459 6/1964 Mashburn 223 --46 3,194,459 7/1965 Knox 223-46 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

FRANK I. COHEN, G. V. LARKIN,

Assistant Examiners. 

1. APPARATUS FOR USE WITH A STANDARD CONSUMER RIBBON ROLL OF THE TYPE HAVING RIBBON WOUND ON A CYLINDRICAL CORE SUPPORTED BETWEEN A PAIR OF AXIALLY SPACED ANNULAR END PLATES OF RELATIVELY DEFORMABLE CARDBOARD OR THE LIKE WHICH HAVE ALIGNED CENTER SPINDLE OPENINGS TO MAKE BOWS OF THE ROSETTE TYPE FROM A STRIP OF THE RIBBON, COMPRISING A RIGID INTEGRAL BOW RETAINING PIN ONTO WHICH SUCCESSIVE LOOPS OF THE RIBBON ARE TO BE IMPALED AND HELD AT THE CENTER OF THE BOW HAVING AN ELONGATED SHANK TERMINATING AT ONE END IN AN ENLARGED SHARPENED HEAD AND AT THE OTHER END IN AN ENLARGED RECTANGULAR BASE FLANGE HAVING A BOTTOM SURFACE AND TWO PAIRS OF PARALLEL SIDE EDGES, A HOLDER FIXTURE FOR RELEASABLY HOLDING SAID PIN IN UPWARDLY POINTING RELATION IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE CENTER AXIS OF SAID RIBBON ROLL WHEN THE RIBBON ROLL IS POSITIONED WITH ITS END PLATES IN HORIZONTAL PLANES INCLUDING AN INTEGRAL ONE PIECES IN HORISPINDLE MEMBER AND AN ELONGATED INTEGRAL ONE PIECE MOLDED PIN-SUPPORTING SLEEVE MEMBER, SAID SPINDLE MEMBER INCLUDING AN ELONGATED POST PORTION AND A LOWER MOUNTING BASE PORTION AT ONE END THEREOF HAVING FRICTIONAL COUPLING FORMATIONS TO BE INSERTED INTO THE SPINDLE OPENING OF THE UPPERMOST END PLATE, FOR RELEASABLY SUPPORTING SAID POST PORTION IN UPWARDLY PROJECTING RELATION ON SAID RIBBON ROLL WITH ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS ALIGNED WITH SAID CENTER AXIS, SAID SLEEVE MEMBER BEING FORMED OF DEFORMABLE PLASTIC AND INCLUDING A HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL BODY PORTION HAVING A DOWNWARDLY OPENING BORE SIZED TO SLIDABLY AND ROTATABLY NEST OVER SAID POST PORTION WITH CONFRONTING SURFACES OF SAID POST PORTION AND BORE IN ROTATIVE AND SLIDING ENGAGEMENT WITH EACH OTHER OVER THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE AXIAL LENGTH OF THE BORE TO SUPPORT SAID SLEEVE MEMBER FOR ROTATION AND AXIAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID POST PORTION AND STABILIZE SAID SLEEVE MEMBER IN CONCENTRIC RELATION TO SAID CENTER AXIS, SAID SLEEVE MEMBER INCLUDING AN UPPER END WALL HAVING A CENTRAL APERTURE THERETHROUGH AND A PAIR OF DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITELY SPACED JAW MEMBERS PROJECTING IN UPWARDLY INCLINED, CONVERGING RELATION THEREFROM FLANKING SAID APERTURE DEFINING FLAT INWARDLY FACING SURFACES FOR RECEIVING EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID PIN BASE FLANGE BETWEEN SAID INWARDLY FACING SURFACES AND SAID UPPER END WALL UPON SLIDING OF SAID BASE FLANGE ALONG SAID UPPER END WALL AND RADIALLY OF SAID CENTER AXIS TO RELEASABLY CLAMP THE SAME AGAINST SAID UPPER END WALL, SAID SPINDLE MEMBER HAVIN A PLUNGER OF SLIGHTLY GREATER AXIAL LENGTH THAN THE THICKNESS OF SAID END WALL PROJECTABLE THROUGH SAID END WALL APERTURE INTO ABUTMENT WITH SAID BASE FLANGE TO FORCE SAID BOW PIN AXIALLY OF SAID CENTER AXIS TO SPREAD SAID JAW MEMBERS AND RELEASE SAID BASE FLANGE FROM CLAMPED RELATION BY SAID JAW MEMBERS UPON AXIAL MOVEMENT OF SAID SLEEVE MEMBER TOWARD TE RIBBON ROLL, SAID UPPER END WALL OF SAID SLEEVE MEMBER INCLUDING DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE RAMP FORMATIONS IN QUADRATURE RELATION TO SAID JAW MEMBERS HAVING VERTICAL SHOULDERS SPACED RADIALLY OF THE CENTER AXIS A DISTANCE CORRESPONDING TO THE DISTANCE BETWEEN A PAIR OF SAID PARALLEL SIDE EDGES OF SAID BASE FLANGE TO ENGAGE SAID EDGES AND POSITION THE BOW PIN WITH ITS SHANK ALIGNED WITH SAID CENTER AXIS. 